Prosecutors object to Hunter Biden's suggestion to confess to avoid tax trial

It is the latest twist in the long-running legal saga surrounding President Joe Biden's son, who is already facing possible prison time following his conviction on a weapons charge in June.

More than 100 potential jurors had been summoned to court to begin selecting the panel that would decide whether he was guilty of a misdemeanor or felony. The indictment says he tried to avoid paying at least $1.4 million (£1.06 million) in taxes over a four-year period while receiving millions of dollars from foreign companies.

But defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the judge that the evidence against Hunter Biden was “overwhelming” and that the president's son wanted to resolve the case with a so-called Alford Plea. In this plea, the defendant asserts his innocence but admits that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction.

A prosecutor asked U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi to reject the proposed confession, arguing that Hunter Biden “is not entitled to plead guilty under special conditions that apply only to him.”

“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” said prosecutor Leo Wise.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she “could not comment” on Hunter Biden's plans to change his plea.

President Joe Biden has stated that he will neither pardon his son nor commute the sentence imposed on him.

Asked again on Thursday whether the President would pardon Hunter, Ms Jean-Pierre replied: “Still no.”

A last-minute confession would allow Hunter Biden to avoid a second criminal trial in a matter of months. He was found guilty in Delaware in June of three serious felonies related to a gun he bought in 2018.

Hunter Biden entered the courtroom holding the hand of his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and was flanked by Secret Service agents.

He initially pleaded not guilty to charges related to his 2016-2019 taxes, and his lawyers have indicated they will argue he did not act “willfully” or with the intent to break the law, in part because of his well-documented struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.

Mr. Scarsi, who was appointed judge by former President Donald Trump, imposed some restrictions on what jurors could hear about the traumatic events that Hunter Biden's family, friends and lawyers say led to his drug addiction.

The judge barred lawyers from linking his struggle with drug addiction to the 2015 cancer death of his brother Beau Biden or the car accident that killed his mother and sister when he was a toddler.

He also rejected a proposed defense expert to testify on the subject of addiction.

The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden lived a lavish life while violating tax law by spending his money on things like strippers and luxury hotels – “in short, everything except his taxes.”

Hunter Biden's lawyers had asked Mr Scarsi to also prevent prosecutors from highlighting details of his spending that they said amounted to “reputation destruction,” including payments to strippers or pornographic websites.

In court documents, the judge said he would “strictly control” the presentation of potentially offensive evidence.

Meanwhile, prosecutors could provide more details about Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which are at the heart of Republican investigations into the Biden family that often seek to link the president to an alleged influence scheme without evidence.

The special counsel's team has said it plans to inform jurors about Hunter Biden's work for a Romanian businessman who allegedly tried to “influence U.S. government policy” when Joe Biden was vice president.

The defense accused prosecutors of publishing details about Hunter Biden's work for the Romanian in court documents in order to boost media coverage and influence the jury.

Sentencing in the Hunter Biden case in Delaware will take place on November 13. He faces up to 25 years in prison, but as a first-time offender he will likely receive a much shorter sentence or avoid prison altogether.